Halos
by anemille
Summary: The new team are pulling themselves together after the departures of Frankie and Mel. They've got a new case involving sinister goings on at a modelling agency. ON HIATUS possibly to be continued, but a new series might be needed for inspiration!
1. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

The new team was finally coming together. No one had by any means forgotten Mel and the dreadful circumstances in which they had lost her, but everyone could get on with their lives now, work lives of course because part of the job terms states that members of the Cold Case Squad cannot have a personal life. Not very easily anyway.

They were getting over the loss of Frankie too. She had gone to continue research, the loss of her friend too much for her. It made some minimal kind of sense though. Mel and Frankie were best friends, mostly because time for meeting others was scarce, and one without the other was like a lion tamer with no lion: lost. So it was probably better for the team that they had both gone and however painful the memories can be, if you're digging up the past everyday as a job, it's better to live yourself in the present.

Detective Superintendent Boyd sat behind his desk digging through some case files. They had been on his desk that morning and all the signs pointed to the fact that when Felix got in she would have a lovely new dead playmate in the lab. He shuddered, although he would never admit it to any of the team, particularly Felix… no wait, to any of the team Boyd hated having to watch Felix cut up the corpses. He hid it well but just the thought that there was someone who was now dead lying in a room close to him made him want to… He stopped that line of thought and replaced what he thought was probably a disgusted expression with one of cheer: Grace had just walked in. She smiled back and it occurred to Boyd that despite everything the team had been through together she was the only one who really understood him. His thoughts were interrupted by a question, "New case files?" Grace was standing over him looking at a photo of the mutilated body of a dead girl.

"What? Oh yeah. Becky Sotherton, found murdered 1977, links to a body found this morning, unidentified but apparently it has been there for sometime."

"I remember the Becky Sotherton case. No one was ever convicted. Pretty girl had strange cuts on her back. Very interesting case, is Felix out there?"

"Yeah, she'll be here anytime soon with the body."

"Won't that be lovely?" A small smile played across Grace's face: she, unknown to Boyd, had guessed about his fear of bodies. He may have fooled the others but she was a psychological profiler, there was nothing she couldn't work out if she worked on it for long enough.

"Yes… Yes it will." Boyd didn't sound very convinced. Luckily he was saved from further analysis by the arrival of Spence and Stella.

"Morning." Spence hung up his coat and Stella instinctively walked off to battle with the coffee machine. Boyd smiled as he watched her go, if she wasn't here he wouldn't be able to have any coffee because could he get the damn thing to work? No.

Felix had arrived. The whole team had been called to the lab and Boyd was hiding his fear, like he did every time, with a white lab coat and some shouting. "What took you so long?"

"I did have to do some stuff actually," Felix retorted sarcastically, "I can't just fling a corpse over my shoulder and stuff in it the van. Photos have to be taken, some examining at the scene etc. Surely you know that?"

Boyd frowned. He was beaten. "Well get on with it then!"

Felix smiled. One – nil! "Female, around 18 years old, died 25-30 years ago, she was found buried in tightly sealed bag which explains the lack of decomposition. Found buried by Smith and Son construction workers when expanding the site for Frite Software Companies, but we can rule out that it was someone at Frite because the company was only founded five years ago."

"Do we know anything about who the girl was?" Spence offered.

"Not yet. The police are running her through the missing persons database."

The team all got up to leave. "Wait a minute, there is something else." Boyd sighed and turned back again. "The body is marked on the back, marks that look very much like wings."

"The markings on Becky Sotherton's back! What they were was speculated upon but many said that they looked remarkably like wings! So that's the link to the Sotherton case." Grace looked thoughtful.

"That and the fact that they were murdered around the same time." Spence added.

"The girl found this morning is one Alice Parks." Boyd triumphantly took up the pen and wrote the name next to the picture of the body on the evidence board. Next to this he pinned up a photo of a pretty girl, she had a pale face framed with dark curls and a nice smile.

"What do we know about her?" Stella asked.

Grace was flipping through the missing persons file that had arrived with picture. "She was 19 and the last time anyone saw her was her work colleague Mary Dominic on 5th August 1977."

"Did anyone question Mary at the time?"

"Yes but she had a rock solid alibi. Alice dropped Mary off at Mary's sister's wedding. At least one hundred people were there and lots of people who were interviewed said that they'd had Mary had been within their sight most of the time. In fact there's someone who can tell you where she was every minute they're just different people."

"OK… so Mary's a no go. But we could talk to her again: find out more about Alice. Spence can you find her? And when you do take Stella and chat with her."

"On it." Boyd liked Spence. If Spence was in a good mood then there were no questions asked, just orders followed.

"Where did they work, Grace?"

"Halo modelling agency."

"What they were the models or they were part of the team?"

"Models. God Boyd, Becky Sotherton worked for Halo!"

"OK… so everything is linking together all we have to do is…"

"Follow the chain." Boyd sighed, they were finishing each others sentences – when was that ever a good sign?

Spence and Stella were driving along what had to be one of the dingiest back alleys in London. There were cigarette butts and it was almost paved in chewing gum. There was some very colourful graffiti depicting some even more colourful swear words. There were dogs barking, a car alarm blaring and the sounds of breaking glass. "Isn't London lovely?" Stella wrinkled up her nose at the smell of alcohol that lingered over the alley.

"Charming." Spence wasn't impressed either. Given the choice he'd run back to the car and drive as far away from the alleyway as possible. But Boyd had sent them on a mission and he didn't want to let the team down.

"Here we are! Number 5, Fairview."

Spence looked shocked, "Fairview! Whoever decided on Fairview should be shot!"

"I'm sure it was very nice at one stage…" Stella as usual was trying to see the best in the situation, "Alright, maybe not." But failed.

"Let's go then." Spence walked up to faded, peeling front door and knocked.

"Hello?"


	2. Chapter 2: Speed Freak

Boyd was hurtling down the motorway, a sick looking Grace in the front seat. "Boyd! Do you have to speed?"

"Yes."

"And why might that be exactly?"

"Because. And anyway who on this God-damned planet ever takes any notice of the speed limits anyway?"

"Me."

"Well you're the only one, Grace. Anyway we're only doing 90, maybe even a bit less."

"You know the need to go faster than anyone else is often associated with the need to prove yourself. A sort of I-am-the-best idea."

"Grace now is not the time for you to start psycho-analysing me. It's time to… Bldy Hell!"

"Boyd!"

A car had just swerved in front of them and Boyd was smacking the horn and yelling obscenities at the driver.

"Calm down, Boyd."

"But just look at that… that… moron!"

"I know, I know. But it doesn't mean that you have to start getting angry. What ever happened to those wonderful anger management courses? We were starting to see a new you."

"Grace I really don't want to talk about this… even with you."

"Even with you. What's that meant to mean?"

"Just that I'd rather talk about… stuff… with you, as opposed to that snotty anger managing woman, or anybody else for that matter."

Grace said nothing to this. There was a silence, not an uncomfortable one, just Boyd and Grace deep in their own thoughts, deep in themselves but each glad of the other's company.

"I'm DI Jordan, this is DS Goodman. You are Ms Mary Dominic, yes?"

"Who wants to know?"

"DI Jordan and DS…" Stella was getting annoyed but Spence cut across her.

"We work for the police, Ms Dominic. And we'd like to come in, if that's alright?" It may have been a question but Spence's tone made it sound more like an order.

"Come on then." Mary Dominic grudgingly held open the door and slammed it behind them.

Boyd had been looking for a car parking space for fifteen minutes. He was going spare. "You'd think that what with them owning that huge building they'd have enough parking spaces for the army, but no!"

Grace was ignoring him. Her mind had turned back to the case.

"You know, for someone to go as far as to carve wings into the backs of dead girls, they'd have to have a reason. It reminds me of the time we had that case where the bodies had 'sorry' carved into their backs, remember?"

Boyd grunted and then bashed the horn once again as some blonde girl stole the free space just three cars ahead. Grace flinched but continued.

"The killer did that out of guilt, out of a sense of wrongdoing. This killer must have some kind of reason for the wings. It's not something that a normal killer would do. It would take time and care, as though he was giving them a go send off. Hmmm… sending them off…"

"Hah! Got it before you, mate!" Boyd was grinning at the Mercedes-Benz he'd just beaten to a space.

"Right then Grace! Let's go! I feel the need to shout at someone!"

And with that remark DSI Boyd and Dr Grace Foley left the car and started towards the massive building in front of them. Halo Modelling Agency: _'If you make it here, you've made it to heaven'. _

"Ms Dominic, you were a friend of the late Alice Parks, is that correct?"

"I was her colleague, yes."

"But were you her friend?"

"I worked with her. We got along. Surely you are friends with your colleagues DS Goodman?"

"We're not here to talk about DS Goodman, Ms Dominic. We're here to talk about you and Alice Parks."

"There is nothing I can say that I haven't already said. I liked the girl, I'm sorry she's dead but you can't pin this on me. I have a rock solid alibi."

"Yes but…" Spence got no further.

"A rock solid alibi DI Jordan. An alibi that is solid as a rock. I don't have any more to say except leave now please."

"Ms Dominic we do have some other questions…"

"Which I do not want to answer, now get out of my house!" She was getting rather hysterical.

Spence and Stella got up and left as quickly as possible. It wasn't until they were back in the car that either of them spoke.

"Interesting lady."

"Interesting and slightly out of it I'd say."

Spence smiled briefly then looked stern once again, "I'd say she was hiding something. She might not have killed the girls but she knows something, or she's covering up for someone else."

"She did seem very eager to tell us about her alibi. But then she doesn't seem very stable. Maybe she's just a little crazy?"

"Maybe. But we'll find out eventually."

Spence turned back into the office car park and he and Stella went back into the building.

There was a red Ford parked five or so cars away from Boyd's 4x4 Lexus. There were two men in the front seats and a woman in the back. All three of them were staring intently at the two figures walking towards the Halo buildings. The driver broke the silence, "There they go. Just a little longer…"

Boyd and Grace reached the front doors. Grace had started to pen the doors when Boyd swore.

"What's wrong now?"

"The car. I didn't lock it, hold on two seconds." And he dashed back down the steps and straight to his car. Grace watched him then turned back to face the doors. And that's when the bomb exploded.


	3. Chapter 3: More Than Bricks and Mortar

Halo Modelling Agency was a mess. The building itself was still standing but not much more could be said for it. There were piles rubble and shards of broken glass everywhere and while the fires had been long since put out everywhere smelled of burnt wood and ashes. But Detective Superintendent Boyd didn't care about the wrecked building. He didn't care that car windscreens were smashed or that the place was swarming with police and fire crews and ambulances. He only cared about Grace. Grace who had taken the full blast and he hadn't been there to protect her.

Back at the office Spence, Stella and Felix were in the lab, looking once again at the body of Alice Parks, oblivious to the drama unfolding at Halo.

"So, do we have a cause of death?" Spence was always the one to ask questions.

"Yes, we do." She gave him a small smile, which he returned. "Asphyxiation. I'd say someone strangled her due to the scratches and bruising around the neck."

"Nice!" Stella wrinkled up her nose.

"Lovely. Now…" Felix got no further. All three of them were staring at the man who now stood in the doorway. No one else ever seemed to venture into their offices and they were all stunned. The stranger broke the silence.

"Dr Gibson, DS Goodman, DI Jordan?"

"Err… Yes." Spence stammered out.

"DSI Boyd sent for you. He's at the City Hospital. He says he wants you there right away."

"Oh God… why?"

"He err… didn't say. But there's been an explosion at Halo Modelling Agency."

There was a stunned silence.

Boyd was sitting, head in hands, on one of those uncomfortable hospital plastic chairs. They wouldn't let him in to see Grace no matter how often he threw his badge and his weight around. And he was dying inside. How could he have let this happen? First Mel, now Grace was fighting for her life, and while he would never admit it to anyone, he cared about her so much. His wall of dignity was saved from breaking by Spence who was rushing towards him closely followed by a scared looking Felix and a totally expressionless Stella.

"What happened?"

"Are you alright?"

"Boyd what's going on?"

"Where's Grace?"

The questions flew at Boyd and he sighed.

"Bomb exploded, no not really, bomb exploded and I'm not sure."

"What do you mean 'not sure'?" Felix was looking worse by the second.

"She got the full blast, she was taken by the doctors and she's in surgery. God how could I let this happen?"

"It's not your fault! Not unless you planted the bomb. You didn't did you…"

"Stella!"

"Gotta check. What?" She gawped at everyone staring at her.

"No, Stella, I didn't." Boyd almost smiled.

"But I wasn't there to help her."

"You can't blame yourself for that Boyd" Spence was there beside him.

"You can't save anyone from a bomb blast." Felix was there beside Spence. As she seemed to be a lot lately... Boyd quit that line of thought. Now wasn't the time for match making between other members of his team. Grace would enjoy that though… Grace…

Boyd was saved from breaking down yet again by the arrival of a doctor. Felix, Spence and Stella stood up, but Boyd couldn't move his legs.

"I have some news for you. Good and bad. Bad first I guess…"

Boyd never heard the rest. All he heard the last conversation he had with Grace. He never heard the good news. Worse still he never heard the bad.


	4. Chapter 4: Connected

"Boyd? Boyd weren't you listening?" Spence was trying to bring his boss back into the real world: the real world in which the team were sat in a cold corridor of the City Hospital. Correction, most of the team.

"Sir…" Stella lightly shoved Boyd's shoulder.

Boyd's head snapped up and he was instantly himself again.

"Err… Yes?"

"Were you listening? We can go and see her now." Felix spoke gently but was looking concerned.

"We can! That's great, how is she?" Boyd positively jumped up.

"You weren't listening were you?" Spence was smiling, but as soon as he began his next sentence the smile faded. "She umm… isn't good, Boyd. She took the full blast, she's not conscious yet and she's connected up to all sorts of stuff," Spence saw Boyd's face fall and trailed off, "but the doctors say it's not as awful as it looks and well…"

Boyd smiled faintly at Spence, "Let's go then…"

"Hey, Boyd," Felix exchanged glances with Stella and Spence, "Why do you go first. We'll join you in a minute."

Boyd looked at her gratefully. He really did need a minute alone to compose himself. To be with Grace. But of course he couldn't let on, even if they had guessed already about his feelings, which he reckoned they had. So he controlled the situation by asking, "Why?"

Felix caught on to this plea for a cover up and said, "Well, I don't know about everyone else but I could murder a coffee! No pun intended!" There was some polite laughter at the joke but no one agreed with her. So she did the only thing she could to save the situation. She elbowed Spence in the ribs.

"Oh err… yeah, coffee great! You coming Stella?"

Stella had caught on too, "Sure. I love coffee!"

They all made a quick exit leaving Boyd on his own. He sighed, pulled himself together and walked off down the corridor.

Felix sat next to Spence, a polystyrene cup of lukewarm liquid in her hand that almost tasted like coffee. Stella had gone to off to find the toilets and she and Spence were left alone.

"What a mess." Spence was being his usual optimistic self.

"Hey, it's not so bad. Yes Grace isn't looking her best but I'm sure she'll be fine, and yes Boyd isn't coping well but I'm sure he'll be OK too, and yes we're totally neglecting the case but we'll come back to it after this is all over and yes we will be the same as before."

Spence grinned at her, "I love the way you see the bright side in everything."

"I love the way you don't!" Felix was being sarcastic but Spence knew that there was some deeper meaning in this conversation; it was just that neither of them wanted to say it. They sat for a minute in silence before Spence plucked up the courage to ask Felix a question, "Hey, you know you said when 'this is all over', well how about when 'this is all over' we go for a drink, or dinner or something? Or I mean it could be lunch or you know, breakfast if you really wanted, not sure how we'd do that though…"

He was blabbering but Felix interrupted, "Sure, Ok."

Spence smiled, "Really?"

Grace lay in a mass of wires and tubes and monitors. There was a gentle beep… beep… beep… from a heart monitor and the faint whirr of a million other machines. She had on oxygen mask on her face and she was covered in gashes and bruises. Boyd thought she had never looked so peaceful. Despite being swamped in machines and bruised and bloodied she looked calm and innocent, as though she was asleep. To many she may have been a mess. But to him she was beautiful.


	5. Chapter 5: Through The Haze

The days flew by. Boyd went to see Grace every day, often accompanied by Spence or Stella or Felix, but he liked to be alone. She still hadn't regained consciousness and Boyd knew that the more time that passed, the more likely it was that she would never wake up. Never smile at him again. Never make quips about his driving. Never know how he felt about her. For Boyd knew now that he felt something more than friendship. He wasn't quite sure that it was love: true, unrequited love, but there was some strong bond between them and while she lay there hurting, he felt pain too.

It wasn't that Grace's condition was really worsening in any way. If anything she had improved over the past few days and that had sparked off some hope in Boyd. She looked less fragile by the day and the number of machines that she had to be hooked up to was decreasing slowly. But she wasn't awake… not yet anyway.

Spence and Boyd were back at the office after their daily pilgrimage to Grace. They were poring over the Halo case files but ever since the bombing they had come up with nothing. Then there was the bombing itself. It seemed likely that the case and the explosion were connected, but the list of possible suspects, not mention the ones they hadn't interviewed yet, was huge and no one really wanted to trawl through it. So, in true male fashion, they were putting it off. But one of those names held the key to this whole thing and when Boyd found out which one it was, God help them, they were in trouble.

The days were starting to bleed together and Boyd's spark of hope was going out. Everyday he went to see her, and everyday there was no change in her condition. The doctors kept telling him that if she wasn't awake in the next couple of days, it was likely that brain damage would set in, if she woke up at all.

He was sitting by her beside staring intently at her but not really seeing anything. He let his vision blur and lose focus, lost in his mind.

_Flashback: 20th January 1989_

_Newly promoted DSI Boyd was pacing around his newly furnished office. Today the psychological profiler was arriving, the one he had specifically requested: Dr Grace Foley. Her record was impeccable and he was punching a metaphorical fist in the air at the thought that she was on his team. She… he wasn't used to female colleagues: despite declaring equality for both sexes the police force and their non-police officer employees were mainly male. But he knew she would do a good job. The number of successful cases under her belt would make her what? A size 24+. There was a knock at his door. A woman around his own age came in and smiled, "Detective Superintendent Boyd? I'm Dr Grace Foley, forensic psychologist." She held out her hand. Mmm, Boyd thought, more like a size 10! But out loud he said, "Dr Foley, may I call you Grace?" She nodded and he spoke again, "Good. I've read your files, your record is really quite impressive."_

"_Thank you. But I must say I already knew that!" She laughed. Usually Boyd would not have been amused at comments like that but he laughed with her. And that was it; they accepted each other with no problems at all._

Present Day 

Boyd's eyes were blurring and not just with lack of focus; there were tears there too. Through the haze in front of him he saw something flicker. What if it was her? Boyd rubbed at his eyes to clear them. Was she awake? Was if she was awake at last?


	6. Chapter 6: More Than One Winner

Felix was examining the body of Alice Parks. Again. Ever since the explosion the team had lost focus: their boss was distant and even more short tempered than usual (when he was there anyway), their psychological profiler/mother figure was lying unconscious in a hospital bed and the case was getting nowhere. The bomb had destroyed any evidence of who had planted it and the list of possible suspects was increasing by the day. Unless new evidence was found soon, Felix feared that the case would always remain cold. That meant failure, and failure wasn't a word in Felix Gibson's dictionary. Not yet anyway. She was getting a bit depressed by this thought when Spence came in. Her mood shifted instantly, all traces of depression gone, "Hi Spence."

"Hey, Felix."

There was a rather long pause. Neither of them knew when to speak or what to say. So naturally they spoke together.

"Did you want…"

"I was thinking…"

They both cut off, embarrassed. Felix cringed next they were going to do the 'No, you' thing and that was just so cliché. So she didn't say it. But then neither did he. So she said it and guess what? He did too.

"No, you"

"No, you"

Felix flushed. "Go on, you first."

Spence smiled, "Ok. I was thinking, you know we said we should have dinner sometime, well I was thinking, maybe, if you want to, and only if because you know we don't have to or anything and I don't mind and…" He was blabbering. Again. Felix put him out of his misery.

"Sure, OK."

"What?" Spence looked up. He'd been a little lost in his twelve-page ramble.

"Sure, I'll have dinner with you."

Spence's face lit up. "Wow, great! How about after work on Friday?

Stella was reading up on Halo Modelling Agency. That was what she was supposed to be doing anyway. In actual fact she had let her mind wander. It had walked around a bit, thinking about how she really needed to go to the supermarket and how she must remember to tape 'Casualty' this week because she missed it last time, until it settled on relationships. She hadn't had many romances and none of them had ever been true love. She thought about Spence and Felix, how much they seemed to like each other and how good they would be together. She thought about Boyd and Grace, how much he cared for her and how sweet they would be together. Then she thought of herself: the third leg. She knew that they would never leave her out and she didn't hate them or anything like that, but there was a tiny stab of jealousy there that wouldn't go away.

Spence was back in the offices, a spring in his step and a smile on his face. Stella looked up from the files she was reading, "Someone looks like they won the lottery."

"Better."

"You got a free trip around the world?"

"Better."

"You've discovered you're the heir to the throne of England, and inherited billions and the palace art collection?"

"Even better. Though that would be good."

"Ah. So you've got a date with Felix then."

"How did you know that?" Spence was oblivious to the fact the him fancying Felix was common knowledge. Stella smiled.

"Lucky guess!" Spence's smile was infectious and Stella forgot about her jealousy. But that doesn't mean it went away.

Boyd rubbed desperately at his eyes, trying to clear his vision. As the world came into focus once again Boyd turned to Grace. Grace who was lying in her hospital bed. Awake.


	7. Chapter 7: The Ninth Ring

Spence picked up the phone on the ninth ring. Usually it would have been the first one, in case there was any news of Grace but the days had dragged on and everyone was losing hope. He brought the receiver to his ear and said, "DI Jordan, Cold Case Unit."

"Spence it's me." Spence mouthed at Stella and Felix, who had just arrived in the office, that it was Boyd.

"Hi, Boyd. When are you coming in we're… She's what? Boyd, that's great! Why didn't you say sooner? Sure… we'll be right there. Fine. Fine. Great, thanks Boyd!"

Felix and Stella were looking mystified.

"Come on!" Spence grabbed his jacket, "Let's go, she's woken up!" And he ran out of the door. Felix and Stella exchanged a grin and hurried after him, shouting at him to slow down.

Boyd was getting more than a little frustrated. He had been shoved out of Grace's cubicle and into the 'Relative's Room'. Even though he wasn't her relative. Still he hadn't said anything, if he told them he wasn't related they might make him wait even longer, and he didn't want that. He couldn't get the picture of Grace, awake and alive, out of his mind. He had been so shocked he hadn't said anything before a nurse interrupted them. She hadn't said anything either. She'd just stared at him and smiled. Without realising it Boyd smiled too.

Spence was driving. He had insisted that he drove. Felix thought that it was probably some man thing about having the power and not letting women do anything too strenuous. That or the fact that he was pushing 80 in a 40 mph zone and he knew that had either Stella or herself been driving they would be doing 35, just to be on the safe side. A car horn honked as Spence flew around the corner. Stella was looking rather pale and gripping the edges of her seat so hard her fingers were white. Felix tried to get through to Spence, "You know, I think we've only hit seven old ladies so far. Seven old ladies and a couple of cats."

"Ha ha. I just want to get there quickly." Spence had a pleading, teary look in his eyes and Felix instantly melted.

"I know." She said softly. The smiled at each other and Spence slammed his foot on the accelerator. The car shot forwards and Stella shut her eyes, praying silently that they weren't going to end up in beds next to Grace.

Boyd was pacing around. He was so close to going out there and doing lots of shouting and waving his arms about. But he knew that Grace wouldn't want him to do that so his sat down and twiddled his fingers a bit. Then he got up, paced four times round the room, sat down and started to whistle. He looked up into the eyes of a middle-aged woman. He grinned, he hadn't realised that anyone else was in there and he was getting a very dirty look. Luckily he was saved by the doctor coming in and telling him that he could see Grace now. Boyd got up but suddenly felt awkward. He wasn't so sure he wanted to see her anymore. What was he going to say?

Spence reversed into a space and slammed on the brakes. The car lurched forwards then settled and Stella unglued her hands from her seat. They'd made it. She shakily opened her door and joined Spence and Felix. The three of them walked up into the hospital and up to the reception desk.

The doctor left Boyd outside Grace's 'room'. He told Boyd that Grace wasn't to be tired out and a nurse would be by later to do some further tests. Boyd nodded but he wasn't really listening. He was thinking still about what he should say. When the doctor had gone he stood for another few minutes thinking. He couldn't decide on anything appropriate to say so he pulled himself together and opened the door.

Grace's head turned towards him as he closed the door again. He smiled and opened his mouth to say 'Hello' or 'Hey or something… but then reality hit and he froze. She was lying there weak and uncomfortable but smiling at him. And he couldn't take it. She opened her arms to him and he hugged her, tears coursing down his cheeks. They didn't speak or move. She held him. And he just cried.


	8. Chapter 8: Back In Business

* * *

AN: Sorry to anyone who has had to wait AGES for this fic. I had completely forgotten about it! So I'm really sorry! Also thanks for the advice, Broken Hearts and Stethoscopes (I think it was you) about dividing the page. I can remember attempting it and something not working out right – so I've tried again. Hope this is all ok, I've kinda lost track about where I was with it.

* * *

Spence, Felix and a slightly worse-for-wear Stella were rushing down the hospital corridor to Grace's room. Felix was first to the window and peered through. She took one look inside and stuck her arm out to stop Spence and Stella. She gave them a shove in the opposite direction and they almost fell over, right there in the busy corridor. Felix pushed the protesting pair out of sight and they stumbled into some handy plastic chairs. 

"What was that for?" Spence was wrinkling his nose up at the colour of the chairs: they were a charming shade of puce.

"We need to give Boyd and Grace a minute, OK?"

"What? They weren't… ewww… were they?"

"If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting then NO. You're a typical male you are!"

"What's that meant to mean?"

"Oh nothing!"

"Yeah, yeah. Miss Science-Brain with your PHD, your BSC, your MBBS and your Royal College of Pathologists membership means nothing at all!"

"That's very good, been reading up have you?"

Spence blushed, "Maybe."

Felix blushed too, "Well I'm very flattered."

Stella was getting bored of the we're-already-married bickering, so she stepped in, "So why exactly are we out here and not in there?" She jabbed a finger at Grace's door.

"I told you. We just need to give them a minute."

Stella wasn't accepting that, "I said 'exactly' and that's not exact!"

"Look, Boyd's crying OK?"

There was a rather stunned silence.

"I knew you'd be like this!"

"Like what?" Mr and Mrs I-Love-To-Bicker were back in business.

"Shocked! And all wiggy!"

"All wiggy, I bet your english teacher loved you!"

"Shut up! Just don't go being weird around him, OK?" Felix looked pleadingly at her colleagues.

"OK, OK." They gave in.

"Oh and we never saw anything, OK? We just arrived, yes?"

"Fine, fine. It's not like _we _ever actually saw anything anyway." Spence gestured at himself and Stella, "For all we know, you could be lying!" Felix gave Spence the eye of death, a technique she had perfected in the short time she'd known him. He just smiled and her evil face pathetically melted into an expression that matched his.

* * *

Back in Grace's room Boyd was pulling himself together and he and Grace were covering the incident they only way they knew how: by once again assuming the roles of Mr and Mrs I-Love-To-Bicker's bickering parents. 

"So you mean you've not got anywhere while I've been gone. You people need me to keep you working. I bet you just had coffees all day!" Grace had just asked about developments in the case, only to discover there weren't any.

"We were trying! It's not hard when your bomb destroyed a lot of vital evidence! Not to mention it killed a couple of the suspects!"

"My bomb! You think I planted it!"

Boyd suddenly looked grey. He grabbed Grace's hand.

"I never meant that, Grace. You know that don't you?" He didn't give her time to reply, he was off again, desperate to make her see, without exactly saying it, that he'd missed her more than anything ever. "I… I was so worried about you. I… I missed you so much… Grace… I…"

"Grace!!!!!!!!" Spence and co burst in, smiles lighting up their faces.

"Spence!!!!!!!! And Felix and Stella!" Grace did her best to join in.

"Great timing guys." Boyd was muttering under his breath. But Grace heard him and her smile became much more real.

* * *

Several hours later the team were kicked out. They had avoided being chucked out when visiting hours ended by flashing their police badges. Still, it was nearly eleven o'clock and it really was about time they went. Grace was looking more and more faded by the minute and they decided to leave, not for the hospital staff but so she could get some rest. They said goodbye and promised to return tomorrow after work. Grace and Boyd exchanged a small smile before he left. Left the room anyway. He lingered outside her door for a while and watched her fall asleep. He was so glad that she was all right again. Now he could relax, as much as he ever did anyway, and go back to the case in hand. Whatever happened next, whoever set off that bomb and hurt Grace was going to pay. 


	9. Chapter 9: That Which Would Hurt Angels

The case had reached a total standstill. It was worse than the M25 at seven o'clock on a Monday morning. All the evidence the team had gained had piled up and no one was sure whether or not it was relevant anymore, after the bomb. No one was even sure whether there was a case still to investigate. The main suspects had all been Halo employees and were either dead or severely injured, injuries that could never be repaired, injures that affected not only the body but the mind as well. No one would ever do that to themselves.

Dr Grace Foley was sitting behind her desk. She had been back at work for three weeks now and she had to say they novelty was starting to wear off. The pile of papers in front of her grew by the day, as did Boyd's dictionary of curses and swear words. She flipped through a random file: it turned out to be one of the photographer's profiles. She turned the pages and stared at the print but she wasn't really concentrating. As she let it fall back to her desk something slipped out. Grace picked it up: it was a magazine cutting.

BEHIND THE SCENES ON A HALO SHOOT 

_Photographer Jimmy R. Ricco has possibly one of the best jobs in the world: he spends hours everyday photographing gorgeous girls for glossy magazines all over the world, and the pay isn't too shoddy either! Earning over £500 per shoot, yes that's per shoot, Jimmy is one of the most popular photographers at Halo and he says he loves his job._

"_Oh yeah totally, I have the best job in the world! These girls are fabulous, they're total angels!"_

* * *

**'Halo Modelling Agency: 'If you've made it here, you've made it to heaven'

* * *

**

**"The markings on Becky Sotherton's back! What they were was speculated upon but many said that they looked remarkably like wings!

* * *

**

Grace sat bolt upright. '…made it to heaven', '…total angels', 'HALO Modelling Agency', '…like wings!'. A link, she'd found a link. Instantly the cogs in her brain started to turn: the girls were Halo 'angels' and left dead with wings on their backs… sending them to heaven, a mark of love, of guilt for having to kill them. The killer was saying sorry by sending them to heaven. She had to call Boyd!

As though he was telepathic the phone rang with Boyd on the other end. Grace launched into her new theory but Boyd cut her off.

"Grace, the bomb, it err… it didn't get the killer."

Grace sighed, she had never thought it would but… GOD! That meant that there was another body.

"Boyd don't tell me you…"

"Another girl. Funny markings on her back. Looks pretty enough to be a model…"

Boyd trailed off and then hung up. Grace put the phone down and looked at the girls' pictures on the evidence board. A thought struck her: Boyd had said 'funny markings'; he hadn't said 'the same'. Grace had to find out what the markings were like: if they were the same her theory would apply. But they would also apply to another situation. If the markings were different, and Grace expected they might be, she knew exactly what they would be…


	10. Chapter 10: Oh Precious Key

Halo Modelling Agency Headquarters was nothing more than a shell. Most of the furniture from the upper floors had been salvaged but structural damage had crippled the building and, even after a clean up, the destruction was easy to see. But Halo had suffered a further blow and now, once again, it was swathed in police tape and being invaded by white suited men and women with serious expressions on their faces.

At the centre of this very organised chaos stood Felix. She surveyed the site around her and concluded very quickly that it wasn't pretty. This killing just had to have a connection to the others and she knew it: Halo, the markings, her pretty face, the apparent cause of death… it all seemed to fit. And yet it didn't. This was an utter violation of human life, a brutal and frenzied attack. No care had been taken with this victim. Her lifeless corpse was littered with deep, savage cuts; there were rings of deep blue bruises around her wrists and neck; and the skin of her back had been ripped so violently that the killer had uncovered her bones. No, it was not a pretty sight.

The gentle clicking of shoes on the bare concrete floor told Felix that Boyd had returned. As she turned she saw that he had Grace in tow, who was talking quietly but very fast and with a vaguely excited expression.

"I hope you haven't eaten yet" began Felix, "This could chill the blood of any pathologist."

"We'll be fine" was Boyd's reply, he clearly didn't have time to think of witticism to counter her remark. "Grace has cracked it…"

He explained to Felix hurriedly about the angels and the guilt and the wings. She looked at him, first excited but then her expression gave way to uncertainty, "Boyd… this girl. It err… well as you know… it's not the same." She looked to Grace to provide some clarification, only to find that Grace had left the conversation and was walking over to the body.

As she bent down she was confronted with the full horror of the attack. Grace stumbled back, reeling. Felix was right – this wasn't the same, it was disgusting, vile, cruel, unforgivable… and it fitted her new theory perfectly.

Stella and Spence, meanwhile, were twiddling their thumbs back at the office. Boyd had left a message about the new body, but had told them to stay where they were – Felix would have to bring the body back to the lab for examination and they could be brought up to speed then. They both sat with two piles of folders – a 'read' pile and an 'unread' pile. They occasionally moved files from one to the other, but this was only pretence designed to make Boyd think that they were working should he burst through the door with his usual lack of warning.

"So…" Stella was eager to broach the topic of Spence and Felix and their upcoming date on Friday. "Looking forward to your weekend?"

"Yeah…" Spence was unsure about discussing Felix with Stella – if they became a pair, and Boyd of course had Grace even if they really were 'just friends', Stella would be left as the odd one out. Spence had felt that way on many an occasion before and he knew how uncomfortable it was.

"Doing anything interesting?" Stella pushed harder. She was happy for them even if it might mean exclusion for her.

Spence cracked, "Oh all right then… yes, I am going out with Felix!" He could hardly contain his excitement; "We're going to have dinner at that new restaurant in town."

Stella whistled, "Wow, posh! And mighty expensive might I add."

"You may, but I will comment no further." He smiled, "How about you?"

"Oh," Stella began, "Nothing so exciting, I'm…"

And of course, with his impeccably bad timing, in walked Boyd followed by a pleased looking Grace and the distant echoes of the forensics team moving in the direction of Felix's lab.

"Stop everything!" declared Boyd, failing to notice their lack of work, "We've got an appointment with our lovely pathologist, and the precious key to our investigation."


	11. Chapter 11: The Last Victim

"So, whoever it is, they got the girl they wanted?"

"It would appear so."

The team shared a moment of stunned silence. Grace's theory had taken all the threads and wound them together into a blood soaked tale worthy of a TV drama serial. An angry, sadistic yet confused killer had embarked on a mission to find the girl on whom he or she wished to exact their revenge. One by one the killer had interrogated his shortlist of suspects only to find that none of them had either the information or was girl that he so desperately wanted to find. Then, either through bitter frustration or the realisation that each of these girls knew far too much, they were killed. Aghast at the appalling crimes he had committed against these beautiful girls the killer, wrought with guilt, had almost lovingly carved wings into their backs, therefore sending these Halo angels to the heaven that they deserved. But now, with the discovery of this new body, his horrific journey was over. This girl (or rather woman – it had been estimated by Felix that copious amounts of plastic surgery was concealing an age of 45, not that it was easy to see beneath the wounds) was the one that the killer had searched for decades to find. She had been the one to reveal a truth or commit an act, and she had suffered for it. Her body was battered and broken, and the killer had left a damning mark engraved on her skin. Whoever it was felt no remorse, no guilt… not this time. From her blood stained back the brutal image was clearly visible: the three pronged fork of the Devil.

"Does that mean that he's finished now? No more bodies has to be a good thing right?" Stella grasped at optimism.

"Well… I think we can be reasonably sure that the killer has found his or her…" Grace started but her words were cut across by Boyd's far from dulcet tones.

"That doesn't mean we stop looking! That we stop trying! We have to catch this… this… sadistic freak!"

"Boyd!" Grace's admonishment was quiet but firm. "We all know the we still have to find the killer. However, we can be relatively thankful that it is unlikely that we will have to deal with more dead girls."

Boyd grimaced, "Point taken".

Grace allowed herself a small smile. First her theory, an ingenious bit of detective work if she did say so herself, and now she had one over on Boyd. It was shaping up to be a remarkably good day.

* * *

Barely a mile away from the successes of the Cold Case Unit, a woman and a man were each trying, unsuccessfully, to force the other into submission. Their raging row was tearing through the old fashioned sitting room, enhanced by driving rain that was pelting the windows. The TV was on but the sound was down, the chatter of the daytime soaps reduced to a barely audible drone. Not that the pair of people in the room were listening. The man was tall, middle-aged but athletic, vaguely Hispanic looking and had the healthy look always worn by someone whose job earned him or her a packet. The woman was smaller and thinner, she appeared to be less well fed and whilst her face was lavishly made up, it had not been applied with care. The man stood over the woman, stooping a little so that his face was close to hers.

"They must have stopped looking! They've found her by now and they'll be so wrapped up in her for the next few months that they'll forget they ever spoke to you!"

"Just because it's been weeks since they came knocking, doesn't mean that they've forgotten about me! It's quite all right for you! They're not already on to you!" The woman's voice was edging towards hysteric.

There was a silence that hung like a dead weight over the room. The woman's throat constricted. The man sneered, his tone sinking into a low monotone that exuded violence as he gripped her arms, "You stupid woman. 'On to you', I don't know! They left you didn't they? Never came back. It's been weeks, you said it yourself – they'll not come back. And if they do, what will they be able to prove? I told you I sorted it out. They have no idea who I am and now we're done. We're finally done. We're finished. It's forgotten."

He threw her down onto the chair and stormed out of the room. The woman reached with a shaky hand out to the TV remote. She turned the volume up, until it blocked out all other noise, even the thoughts rocketing around her head. It also drowned out the tears that were now coursing down her foundation plastered cheeks.


End file.
